Automatic regulator for coal-chutes.



S. J. GALLENDBR. AUTOMATIC REGULATOR FOR COAL CHUTBS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8, 1913.

1,085,722. Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

-s. J. O ALLENDER. AUTOMATIG REGULATOR FOR GOAL GHUTBS. APPLICATION FILED JAN 8 1913 SJUQZ Znden Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 STEPHEN J. GALLENDER, OF NAN'IICOKE, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC REGULATOR FOR COAL-CHUTES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

Application filed January 8, 1913. Serial No. 740,872.

To all @071 01a it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN J. CALL'EN- DER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nanticoke, in the countyof Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Regulators for Coal-Chutes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved automatic regulator for coal chutes and has for its primary object to provide a simple and ellicient device for this purpose whereby the flow of coal in the chute from the picker to the coal pocket is automatically regulated, and liability of breakage of the coal into fine particles thereby obviated.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a gate normally held by gravity in its closed position, an over-chute pivotally mounted at one of its ends and adapted to be actuated by the weight of the accumulated coal, and means for mounting said gate upon the chute whereby the gate is automatically moved to its open position to release the coal.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel form of check gate for application to the discharge ends of over-chutes which will effectually prevent breakage of the coal in its fall from one over-chute section to another, operating means for the gate actuated by the weight of the accumulated coal in the over-chute and means for regulating the weight of coal necessary to actuate the gate.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic regulating device for the above purpose which consists of few elements of strong and durable construction, is positive and reliable in its operation and may be manufactured and installed at relatively small cost.

With the above and other objects in view scription and accompanying drawings, in

which- Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a plurality of over-chutes provided with my improved check gates, one of the gates being illustrated in its open position. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the over-chutes showing the gate in full lines in its closed positionand by dotted lines in its open posit1on. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the check gate applied to a different construction of the coal chute; F g. 4 is a longitudinal section thereof; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an over-chute lllustrating a slightly different mounting of the check gate from that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, 5 designates the over-chutes which are of any ordinary or approved form and mounted in a frame structure of any preferred construction. These chutes are arranged in superposed relation as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the discharge ends of the lower chute extending beyond the discharge end of the next adjacent upper chute. Each of the chutes consists of a bottom or body plate having vertically extended flanges or walls 6 upon its longitudinal edges which constitute the sides of the chute and between which 'the coal moves. These over-chutes are arranged at an inclination for the proper gravity movement of the coal and are pivotally mounted at their upper ends as indicated at 7 in suitable supporting uprights. Between the upper pivoted ends of the chutes and the lower end of an inclined directing plate 8, aspace or gap 9 is pro vided through which heavy particles of slate fall upon the directingplate and into the next lower over-chute. Such slate or rock as may be contained in the coal is thus diverted and discharged from the upper end of each over-chute. The coal, however, moves downwardly upon the over-chute section and is discharged from the lower end thereof. In order to break the fall of the coal from one over-chute to the other and to prevent a too rapid flow of the coal over the overchutes I provide an improved check gate which will now be described in detail. The ordinary chute for coal as used in the breaker has many turns and as the chute must be pitched at a sharp angle in order that the coal will continuously move downwardly when it is wet, the same in turning the corners of the chute is broken into small unmarketable pieces. constructing the chute in sections, as in the present invention, the coal is blocked at intervals between the slate pickers and the storage pockets, and accumulates in each of the over-chutes to approximately two-thirds of the capacity of said chute. This accumulated coal is released gradually in the manner to be hereinafter explained and owing to the accumulation of the coal in the over-chutes, the fall from one chute to another is comparatively slight so that the coal will not be broken to a material extent. In this manner, I aim to convey both wet or dry coal from the pickers to the storage pockets without breakage. By the provision of the automatically actuated releasing gates, the chute sections may be pitched at any desired angle to insure the movement of wet coal so that the same will never stick to the bottom of the chute. It is also to be noted that by checking the coal in the manner above explained, the same moves from one over-chute to another from a dead stop, thus further minimizing liability of breakage in the fall of the coal while at the same time what is in elfect, a steady and con tinuous discharge of the coal is obtained. Adjacent to the discharge end of each of the over-chutes 5, a transverse rock shaft 10 is arranged beneath the chute, said shaft being provided at its ends with the cranks 11 which are journaled in suitable supporting uprights 12. One or both the ends of this shaft may be longitudinally extended toward the discharge end of the chute as indicated at 13 and upon the same an ad justable weight 14 is mounted, said weight being secured in its adjusted posit-ion by means of a set screw 15. To the upper ends of the uprights 12, the gate arms 16 are pivotally connected at one of their ends as indicated at 17. The gate 18 connects these arms at their lower ends and extends transversely across the mouth or discharge end of the over-chute 5. To the side walls 6 of the chute, the laterally projecting pins 19 are fixed, said pins extending through the short longitudinal slots 20 provided in the gate arms 16. It is to be understood that the over-chute 5 is supported at its free end solely by the intermediate portion of the rock shaft 10 upon which said chute rests. The operation of this form of the invention will therefore be understood as follows: The gate 18 being in its closed position as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the coal which passes or jumps over the gap 9 at the upper end of the chute moves downwardly between the side walls of the chute and is checked by said gate. This coal gradually accumulates in the chute and backs up above the rock shaft 10, \Vhen sufficient coal has thus accumulated in the upper portion of the chute, so that the weight thereof will overcome the gravity action of the weight 14, the discharge end of the chute moves downwardly, and the shaft 10 is rocked. This downward movement of the chute also carries the arms 16 clownwardly and owing to the fact that the fulcrums 17 of said arms are arranged closely adjacent to the pins 19, it will be obvious that these gate arms will move considerably faster than the chute so that the gate 18 will be almost immediately moved to aposition below the bottom wall of the chute as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Thus the accumulated coal is released so that it falls from the discharge end of the over-chute upon the next overchute arranged therebelow. This coal together with the coal moving downwardly upon the latter chute is held up or checked by the next gate and the above operation repeated. It will be readily understood that by simply adjusting the weight 141113011 the end 13 of the rock shaft, the weight ofthe accumulated coal necessary to overbalance the over-chute and actuate the gate, may be varied as desired, so that the rapidity with which the coal is discharged from the several over-chutes will be regulated.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, I have illustrated a slightly modified form of the invention showing the application of a check or regulating gate to a different form of the coal chute. In this modified construction,

21 designates the stationary chute which'is provided with the vertical side walls 22. This chute is provided at suitable points in its length with movable sections or pans 23 which are longitudinally bowed or curved as clearly shown in Fig. 4, the side walls of these movable chute sections being provided with a series of cuts or splits 24. Suitable supports 25 are arranged in line with the stationary portions of the chute to limit the downward movement of the pan 23 and prevent the same from falling below the level of the coal chute. Adjacent to the lower end of the movable pan 23, a retarding plate 26 is disposed between the side walls 22 of the chute and is pivotally mounted thereon at its upper end. In the lower end of this retarding plate and adjacent the opposite edges thereof, the adjusting screws or bolts 27 are mounted, the lower ends of said bolts being threaded in the bottom of the coal chute. By simply adjusting these bolts, the inclination of the retarding plate may be varied so as to make the coal move downwardly through the chute at greater or less speed. tween the side walls of the chute and atan opposite inclination to the retarding plate A metal plate 28 is arranged be- 7 26. At the lower end of this stationary in= f clined plate, the check gate arranged. In this instance, the gate proper indicated at 29 is fixed to the upper ends of the arms 30 which are fulcrumed intermediate of their ends as indicated at 31 upon the side walls of the chute. The lower ends of these arms are connected by means of a bar 32 upon which a suitable weight 33 is mounted. To the upper edge of the transverse gate 29, a downwardly inclined plate 34 is fixed, the lower edge of said plate being disposed contiguous to the bottom wall of the chute when the gate is in its closed position. To the side walls of the movable chute section or pan 23,. the ends of the cable or other flexible connection 35 are suitably attached. A second wire or cable 36 is connected at one of its ends centrally to the cable 35 and extends over suitable guide sheaves or pulleys 37. The other end of this cable is secured in any suitable manner to the weight 33. The operation of this form of the invention is as follows: hen the gate 29 is in its closedposition, the coal moving downwardly over the plate 28 is checked thereby so that the same gradually accumulates or piles up back of the retarding plate 26 and upon the movable chute section or pan 23. The weight of this accumulating coal gradually forces the movable pan 23 downwardly so that the gate 29 is lowered through the medium of the flexible connection 36 which connects the pan 23 to the weight 33. It will also be apparent that when the gate has thus been moved below the edge of the plate 28, the inclination of the plate 34: carried by the gate will be changed, so that the movement of the coal from the plate 28 over the plate34 to the lower portion of the coal chute will not be greatly accelerated. When the accumulated coal upon the pan 23 has moved off the pan the weight 33 overcomes the weight of the pan and returns said pan and the gate 29 to their normal positions. The flow of the coal in the chute is thus again checked and the above operation repeated.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, I have illustrated a slightly difierent manner of mounting the movable gate upon an over-chute of the type disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2. In this construction, the gate is moved above instead of below the over-chute when said chute is moved by the accumulated coal therein. Thus liability of injury to the gate by the coal striking the same, will be obviated. To this end, the gate arms 38 are fulcrumed adjacent to their upper ends upon the supporting standards 12, and the upper ends of the arms are loosely mounted upon the pins 19 which project laterally from the side walls of the chute. It is of course, understood that the lower end of the over chute is supported upon a rock shaft 10 which is'provided with a weight 1a in a similar manner tothe preferred embodiment of the invention. The gate 18 is disposed across the lower end of the chute and the arms 38 are connected to the ends of this gate adjacent the upper edge thereof. Inclined braces 39 are fixed to said gate at its lower edge and to the fulcrumed arms 38. The operation of this form of the invention will be readily understood. When the coal accumulates in the lower end of the overchute to a sufiicient extent to overbalance the same and rock the shaft 10, the chute forces the upper ends of the arms 38 downwardly and rocks said arms upon the supporting standards 12, thereby elevating or raising the gate 18 secured to the lower ends of said arms above the side walls of the chute, to permit of the discharge of the coal therefrom. lVhen the weight of the coal in the chute decreases, to a predetermined extent, the weight let rocks the shaft 10 and returns the over-chute and the gate to their normal positions and again checks the movement of the coal.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the construction and operation of the several forms of the invention will be clearly understood. By means of the same, I aim to eliminate the chipping or. breaking of coal into fine particles as it is fed from the coal pickers to the storage pockets. Such finely comminuted coal is of low commercial value and the loss incident to the breakage of coal in this manner is considerable. It will be apparent that in each of the forms of the invention above described, the elements thereof are so mounted and arranged that there will be no interference with the proper action of the gate by the coal, thus insuring the positive opening and closing movements of the gate. Owing to the simplicity of my invention, and the arrangement of parts thereof, it will further be seen that the same can be manufactured and installed at comparatively small cost.

While. I have shown and described the preferred form and construction of the various elements, it will be understood that the same are susceptible of considerable modification without departing from the essential features or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is l. The combination with an inclined coal chute having a movable section, of a check gate arranged in the chute for bodily movement in a vertical plane, said gate being normally disposed across the discharge end of the chute in the path of movement of the coal, and means actuated in the movement of the movable section of the chute by the Weight of accumulated coal thereon to dispose said gate below the path of movement ofthe coal and release the same for gravity movement in the chute.

2. The combination with an inclined coal chute having a movable section, of a vertically movable check gate arranged in said chute and gravity movable means normally holding the gate in the path of movement of the coal to check the same and also supporting the chute section against movement, said chute section being moved by the weight of the accumulated coal thereon to overcome the action of said gravity means and move the check gate to a position below the path of movement of the coal and release the same for gravity movement in the chute.

3. The combination of an inclined coal chute having a section pivotally mounted at one of its ends, weighted means arranged beneath said chute section at its other end to support the same, a check gate normally closing the latter end of the chute section, said gate being mounted for vertical movement with relation to the chute section, and means carried by said chute section for actuating the gate when said chute section is moved by the weight of the accumulated coal thereon to dispose the gate in its open position.

4. The combination of an inclined coal chute pivotally mounted at its upper end, a rock shaft disposed transversely beneath said chute adjacent its other end to support the same, a weight on one end of said rock shaft, a vertically movable gate normally disposed transversely across the discharge end of said chute to close the same, and means connected to said gate and to said chute to actuate the gate when said chute is moved by the weight of the accumulated coal thereon to dispose the gate in its open position.

5. The combination of an inclined coal chute pivotally mounted at its upper end, gate arms pivotally mounted for oscillatory movement, a gate connecting said arms at one of their ends normally closing the discharge end of the coal chute, movable means arranged beneath said chute adjacent its discharge end to support the same, and means carried by the chute cooperating with the gate arms to move the gate to its open position when said chute is moved by the weight of the accumulated coal therein.

6. The combination of an inclined coal.

. chute pivotally mounted at its upper end, a

rock shaft extending transversely beneath the chute adjacent its lower end, a weight on one end of said shaft to normally hold the same against rocking movement and support the chute, longitudinally extending arms pivotally mounted for oscillatory movement, a gate connecting said arms normally disposed across the discharge end of the chute, and pins fixed to the chute and bearing upon said arms to move the gate to its open position when said chute is moved by the weight of the accumulated coal therein.

7. The combination of an inclined coal chute pivotally mounted at its upper end, uprights arranged at opposite sides of the chute, gate arms pivotally mounted upon said uprights, a gate connecting said arms and normally disposed across the discharge end of the chute, gravity controlled means mounted in said arms and disposed beneath the chute to support the same, and pins projecting from opposite sides of the chute and bearing upon the gate arms to move the gate to its open position when said chute is moved by the weight of the accumulated coal thereon. V

8. The combination of an inclined coal chute pivotally mounted at its upper end, uprights arranged upon opposite sides of said chute, a rock shaft mounted in said uprights and extending transversely beneath the chute to support the same, a weight on one end of said shaft, gate arms fulcrumed at their upper ends upon said uprights, a gate connecting the lower ends of said arms, and extending transversely across the. discharge end of the chute, said arms being each provided with a longitudinal slot, and pins projecting laterally from the chute and movable in said slots to oscillate said arms and move the gate to its open position when the chute is moved by the weight of the accumulated coal therein.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN J. CALLENDER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five-cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents; Washington, D. G. 

